SFST continues visit in Brussels, Belgium (with photos)
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The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, continued his visit in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday (April 14, Brussels time).
Mr Hui met with senior officials of the European Commission in the morning. During the meeting with the Director for Direct Taxation, Tax Coordination, Economic Analysis and Evaluation, DG TAXUD (Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union) of the European Commission, Mr Benjamin Angel, Mr Hui reiterated Hong Kong’s commitment to upholding the prevailing international tax requirements against cross-border tax avoidance and working closely with the European Union (EU) in tackling harmful tax practices. On the foreign-sourced income exemption (FSIE) regime which took effect from January this year in Hong Kong, Mr Hui said he was pleased to note that the EU considered the new regime fully in compliance with their requirements with regard to dividends, interest and IP (intellectual property) income.
At the meeting with the Deputy Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union of the European Commission, Ms Alexandra Jour-Schroeder, Mr Hui shared Hong Kong’s efforts in promoting fintech as well as green and sustainable finance, as both the EU and Hong Kong are pioneers in the related fields.
Mr Hui also met with the Deputy Chairman of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority, Ms Annemie Rombouts. They exchanged views on the increasing importance of international co-operation among financial market supervisors and shared experience in effective supervision while facilitating business growth.
Mr Hui paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium, Mr Cao Zhongming. He briefed Mr Cao on Hong Kong’s continuous efforts in integrating into national development.
The Hong Kong Film Night of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) was held yesterday. Mr Hui said he was pleased to join BIFFF for the first time and gave welcoming remarks at the reception. He noted one of the Hong Kong Government’s priorities is to develop the city into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and the Government is strongly supportive of the creative industries, surely including the film industry.
On April 15 (Brussels time), Mr Hui will visit Port of Zeebrugge, the second largest port in Belgium, before concluding his duty trip in the country.